CLEVELAND,
Miss. (March 11, 2006) ' Rollins staved off two late Alabama-Huntsville
runs and kept their improbable season alive as the sixth seeded
Tars upset the third seeded Chargers 63-58 in the opening game of
the 2006 NCAA Division II South Region Tournament. The win moves
Rollins to 24-7 on the year while Huntsville's season ends at
22-8.
Rollins advances to
play the winner of the Benedict-Montevallo game on Sunday, March 12
at 5 p.m. (CST) in Cleveland, Mississippi.
Junior forward John
Thinnes pumped in 26 points, behind 9-14 shooting (3-7
three-point), to lead the Tars assault. Point guard Jonny Reibel
added 15 points to go along with six rebounds with Chauncey Gibbs
also gathering six boards.
UAH put three players
in double figures, led by Jason Smith with 14. Graham Aderholt
added 12 and Daniel Easterly put up 10 points while pulling down a
game high 13 rebounds.
"This was a great
college basketball game," said Rollins Head Coach Tom Klusman. "We
made the big defensive plays down the stretch and hit big shots
when we needed them. I'm very proud of our kids; they played their
hearts out today."
Rollins showed no signs
of tournament jitters as they jumped out to a 10-0 advantage over
the first five minutes. Aderholt hit a trey to get the Chargers on
the board and sparked a 7-0 run and pull UAH to within three.
Rollins fought back with a barrage of treys, two from Reibel and
one from Kevin Hogan, to go up 21-12 at the 10 minute mark. Again
the Chargers came back, rolling up a 17-2 run and taking a 29-23
lead with five minutes to go. The Tars then battled back, capped
off with a Greg Sweeney three from the top of the key with 15 ticks
left in the half, making the halftime score 33-33.
Both schools came
flying out of the gate in the second half as a whirlwind first five
minutes ended with a Thinnes three pointer, giving the Tars a 43-40
advantage. The game then went back and forth until two straight
Rollins turnovers led to five straight Huntsville points and cut
Rollins' lead to one, 52-51.
With less than two
minutes to play, Daniel Easterly followed a missed lay-up with a
dunk and tied the score at 56 all. Tars sparkplug Isaac Codrey
nailed a three pointer from the corner on the Tars next possession,
followed by another Easterly dunk and a Thinnes 15 footer to put
Rollins up 61-58 with 30 seconds to go. On Huntsville's next trip
down the floor, Smith was off the mark on a three for UAH and
Reibel was fouled after the Codrey rebound with five seconds to go.
Reibel missed the front end of the one on one but the Chargers
again came up empty and Thinnes sealed it up with two free
throws.
"All year no one gave
us any respect," added Klusman. "Each night we just came out and
did what we had to do to win and that is what we did today. It is a
fantastic feeling to be part of this tournament and this team."
Rollins semi-final game
can be heard on WPRK 91.5 Winter Park and on the Web at www.wprkdj.org with
the pregame show beginning at 4:55 p.m. (CST).
